Investing
UBS Says Buy Quality: 4 Stocks With Big Upside to Their Price Targets
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Talk about breaking out to new highs. This past week’s ramp up to blow us out of the old trading range was significant, and with early earnings coming in positive, and we prices improving as inflation was nudged higher, we could be poised for a solid move up. One thing is for sure, it makes sense to stick with high-quality companies that look set to report good second-quarter results, because in a pricey market, an earnings or guidance miss will probably not be treated well.
In a recent research report, UBS suggests that quality is the only way to go. Citing firming growth, low interest rates and the big political uncertainty, the firm is looking for companies with strong profitability, good financial health and efficiency. The report focused on 20 companies with the ability to deliver positive results despite macro uncertainty. The companies also share what UBS terms as more “U.S.-centric business models,” which they see as helped along by a more confident consumer.
We selected the four stocks with the highest upside potential to the UBS price targets. All are rated Buy.
eBay
This top internet company has long been rumored to be in play as a takeover target. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) operates e-commerce platforms that connect various buyers and sellers worldwide. Its platforms enable sellers to organize and offer inventory for sale, and buyers to find and buy it virtually anytime and anywhere.
The company’s Marketplace platforms include its online marketplace at ebay.com and the eBay mobile apps, as well as StubHub platforms that comprise its online ticket platform at stubhub.com and the StubHub mobile apps, which enable fans to purchase tickets to the games, concerts and theater shows. Its Classifieds platforms include a collection of brands, such as Mobile.de, Kijiji, Gumtree, Marktplaats, eBay Classifieds and others that offer online classifieds and help people find whatever they are looking for in their local communities.
The UBS price objective is posted at $32. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target is $28. Shares ended the week at $26.34.
Delta Air Lines
This company consistently has ranked high with Wall Street, and it posted solid second-quarter earnings last week. Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and the regional Delta Connection carriers offer service to 334 destinations in 64 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft.
Wall Street analysts have long lauded Delta for the most extensive hedging policy among the airlines, and it owns and operates a refinery in addition to a sizable hedging book. Trading at a low 8.8 times 2016 estimated earnings, the stock is right in the metrics that look so solid.
Delta investors receive a 1.33% dividend. The UBS has a $49 price target, but the consensus price objective is higher at $56. The stock closed most recently at $39.98.
Royal Caribbean Cruises
This company looks solid as many people continue to take expensive cruises. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) operates cruises under various brand names. The Royal Caribbean International brand provides cruise itineraries ranging from two to 24 nights, with options for onboard dining, entertainment and other onboard activities to various destinations.
The Celebrity Cruises brand offers cruise itineraries ranging from two to 18 nights to various destinations, and it operates onboard upscale ships that offer accommodations, fine dining, personalized services and spa facilities. The Azamara Club Cruises brand offers cruise itineraries ranging from three to 20 nights that serve the upmarket segment of the North American, the United Kingdom and Australian markets.
The Pullmantur brand provides cruise itineraries ranging from two to 15 nights, with food and entertainment options for families and couples. The CDF Croisières de France brand offers seasonal itineraries to the Mediterranean, Europe and Caribbean markets. The TUI Cruises brand provides onboard activities, services, shore excursions and menu offerings for the German cruise market.
Shareholders are paid a solid 2.1% dividend. The UBS price target for the stock is $99, the same as the consensus target. The shares closed trading Friday at $70.39 apiece.
Palo Alto Networks
This company was a momentum trader’s dream before crashing back to earth. Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW) is helping to lead a new era in cybersecurity by protecting thousands of enterprise, government and service provider networks from cyber-threats, and it boasted staggering year-over-year billing growth.
Unlike fragmented legacy products, the Palo Alto Networks security platform safely enables business operations and delivers protection based on what matters most in today’s dynamic computing environments: applications, users and content. The platform has new features that were introduced to help security professionals overcome the distractions and time spent on problems caused by the overwhelming volume of alerts and manual processes associated with operating many discrete security products, and, instead, expand breach prevention capabilities and boost operational efficiency.
The company continues to be ranked the highest with the Wildfire product, which has been the favorite in the APT space among the value added resellers who carry and sell the product. Toss in solid upside in billing potential for 2016 and 2017, and the story is a killer going forward. Many analysts on Wall Street have made it clear that the feedback they get from the professionals at security conferences is the most bullish on Palo Alto, and the company is gaining real traction with larger data centers’ firewalls.
The $180 UBS price target is less than the consensus target of $185. The stock closed trading on Friday at $123.67 per share.
These four solid companies all have good upside to the posted UBS price targets. It makes sense to shift some capital to these stocks, as not only does the upside look good, but the chances of the stocks taking a huge dive are mitigated by some prior underperformance.
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